[ by Howard Haykin ]

The longest tenured U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who oversaw the prosecutions of 2 Illinois governors and a former Bush administration White House aide - I. Lewis Libby Jr., - is joining Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.  He began serving as the U.S. attorney in that district in 2001, and stepped down at the end of June.  Until now, he also had a career prosecutor, having worked for the Justice Department for 24 years. 

Two successive Illinois governors were prosecuted on corruption charges by Patrick Fitzgerald – George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich.  He was the lead prosecutor in the trial of Mr. Libby, a former chief of staff to VP Dick Cheney.  A jury convicted Mr. Libby on perjury and obstruction of justice charges.

Mr. Fitzgerald, 51, will remain in the Midwest to work in Skadden's Chicago office.  Skadden, with about 1,800 lawyers, is headquartered in New York. 

Mr. Fitzgerald is a New York native, having graduated from Regis High School on the Upper East Side before attending Amherst College and Harvard Law School.  He worked in the United States attorney's office in Manhattan before moving to the Chicago office in 2001.     [ Dealbook, 10/22/12 ]